I. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to generally to an interactive multiple activity toy for young children and more particularly to a switchbox incorporating an array of LED lights, a battery power supply, a plurality of control switches and a record/playback circuit arranged such that the child may operate the switches to create variable light patterns and may record and playback speech, music and other sounds.
II. Discussion of the Prior Art
It is well established that children, between the ages of one and five years, enjoy toys that they can manipulate to provide light patterns and sounds as one or more electrical switches are turned on and off. There are available on the market toy musical instruments having keyboards for playing musical tones and melodies. A toy guitar available from the Fisher Price Company has a plurality of switches, which when activated, select a style of music, e.g. jazz, rock & roll, heavy metal, etc., previously recorded and digitally stored for playback. The guitar also includes a series of LEDs that flash in different patterns as the music is being played.
While many toys currently on the market now incorporate record/playback modules, they do not afford the degree of interaction to maintain a child's interest for more than a short period of time. It is accordingly a principle object of present invention to provide a light box toy with record/playback capabilities along with an array of LEDs, each associated with a decorative image which becomes illuminated depending upon the particular switches that are actuated by the child. In addition, the light box of our invention also incorporates record/playback module so that music, vocal messages and other sounds can be recorded and subsequently played back as the child selects certain of a plurality of switches to actuate.
While the present invention is being described as a toy for young children, it may also be used as a therapy device with persons having motor skill problems, such as, for example, limitations on hand/eye coordination often found in patients having Parkinson's disease.